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I can never remember the name of those stupid chestnut-things on the back of fetlocks!

Ergots. My horse's are practically nonexistant, probably because he skids around in his paddock so much he wears them down.

Until recently, I did NOT really know how to tie a western cinch. I just guessed, and after numerous loosening episodes, finally decided I should check online. Turns out I was doing it right all along, and the horse in question is just a wide tub o'lard who can hold his breath for a VERY long time.

I still don't know how western stirrups are supposed to attach to the saddle, nor where the stirrup leather buckles are supposed to sit. They could be upside down and I'd have no friggen' clue...

And for the life of me, I can't figure out why cinches have buckles on both ends, leaving the buckle tongue on the tied end just hanging out to poke something.

And for the life of me, I can't figure out why cinches have buckles on both ends, leaving the buckle tongue on the tied end just hanging out to poke something.

Because some people use a latigo on the left side that has holes in it - so both ends of the buckle are utilized. It is personal choice really whether you'd rather do the western knot or use the holes in the latigo. Personally I do the knot because you can get it 'just right' without being in between holes

Remembering not to let anything medical panic the living snot out of me.
I know all the normal range stats for equines...and even know my own horses normal resp, heart rate...right down to each horses' normal temps depending on what time of the day it is. (both run a little higher normal range after 3 pm)
However anytime something is slightly wonky on either horse...I guess, second guess and third guess estimates on what might be causing it and within a short time am imagining the worst...then panic mode sets in and by the time the horse is feeling normal again I'm an absolute wreck.

I can also never remember which side a horse's mane should be on for English or western...I get them mixed up.

You jump in the saddle,
Hold onto the bridle!
Jump in the line!
...Belefonte

Standard for reins is that the more used, or more necessary, one goes on the inside; less used goes on the outside. Goes for pelhams, gags, draw reins, etc. Basically, you don't want to be cranking on the pelham rein when you just need a little "woah" from your snaffle rein. You can always switch 'em. Doesn't really matter.

Fluffie - ergot and my horse doesn't have them! Is he more evolved?...or has he skipped an evolutionary step? I may never know.

tbtrailrider - scope is totally personal. Tends to refer to height - scope for 3'6 means can do the 3'6, perhaps at the top of its range. A safe rule of thumb is that if the horse clears a jump with effort, that is the limit of its scope (for now.) You can also watch a horse's hind end to determine scope. Watching some high level jumpers, esp grand prix horses, I'm surprised the horses don't flip head over heels with how much SPRING they get from their back end! It's crazy. (This is something I actually only noticed this weekend, watching Marilyn Little & Romeo in Raleigh.)

Umm.. I suck at fitting martingales. And weird bits, like loose rings and pelhams. And eyeballing girth sizes...and knowing when a horse is (subtlely) lame while riding.

The only thing I've learned in college is what I don't want to do with my life.

I have to hang the headstall over my own head to get a bridle reassembled correctly. Otherwise, something always ends up crooked, backwards, twisted, or upside down.

I can't wrap a tail without the darn thing slipping off. I get so paranoid about wrapping it too tightly. I just use the pre assembled tail wraps for shipping. I find someone else to wrap it when it's braided.

I don't know why boots have swagger tabs. They've never given me a swagger.

And I've never figured out how to get a martingale stop on without using language that would make a sailor blush and frighten small children.

But the big mystery of horse ownership: where the devil are all those hoof picks I've bought over the years? I swear, you could melt down all my lost hoof picks and make an F350 out of them!

Despite having polo wrapped a gazillion legs, I still have a tendency to wrap the right ones backwards. In fact, I passed this on to one of my friends who was finally corrected about it when she was on her college polo team. I was a wee bit embarrassed!

I am incapable of making simple decisions about which blanket to use. I attribute this to the fact that my horses are almost never blanketed. Unfortunately, one of them has been sick, and I spend ten minutes agonizing each night over what to put on him!

I don't know what it means (or what it feels like) to have my horse "in front of my leg". Um, about half of him is in front of my leg and the other half is in back of my leg, and I thought that was kinda the goal.

I also can't give an aid when a certain foot is in the air, or striking the ground, or beginning to move forward or any of that.

Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst.Starman

I have to hang the headstall over my own head to get a bridle reassembled correctly. Otherwise, something always ends up crooked, backwards, twisted, or upside down.

Hey, I used to do that!

I must admit, that after years of riding around in dressage arenas, I can't remember the letters. Oh, I have a way of remembering that the letters are AKEHCMBF, but when I'm riding I can never remember which side of the arena E and B are on, and which diagonal K, H, M, and F are at the end of. (I memorize my dressage tests by which way I turn and whether I do movements in the middle of the arena or end, rather than by letters.) It's a good thing I'll probably never make it past training level.

How to braid (well) and how to clip (well). In the two years I've owned him, my horse has had health or training issues that mean I don't want to clip in the winter (it is Montana, and my poor little TB needs that coat if he's not being worked too hard!) and I don't need to braid in the summer. So those skills I will have to acquire later.

However, having a very sick horse for a year has taught me LOTS and LOTS about various vet skills. Need a leg wrapped? I'm your girl. Shots? No problem. Want a second opinion as to which leg your horse is lame on? Okay. Can't identify that bump/scrape/creeping crud? Ask away. Need a hand getting that ointment into your horse's eye? I've got some tricks up my sleeve.

2) Why the heck does the elastic part of the girth have to be on the mounting side? Never made much of a difference to me.

It makes no difference. In fact you should alternate which side you girth up on. Its much better for your saddle it you do. Most saddles when viewed upside down down the panels will have asymmetry if they are only girthed up on the left side. Same thing for always mounting on the left- much healthier on the horse's back and saddle to alternate. Thats my PSA.